European views on holiday decorations

[JJohnson 0]

I work for a Finnish company, and was a little suprised by this. Driving around Chicago today, one of Finnish compadres made a remark about how much decorations we Americans put on our houses. His exact words were: "Do all you Americans have a secret storage shed somewhere to hide all your holiday decorations."
He went on to explain his observation that no normal house could possibly hold all the shit we seem to have for Easter, Halloween, X-mas, Thanksgiving....you name it. He says ," You people don't have the Halloween stuff down yet, and already there is houses with X-mas stuff and Thanksgiving stuff up!" I had to laugh. Some of the houses already look like Clark Griswald's place. At X-mas time most neighborhoods are so lit up airplanes go into holding patterns above them.
So seeing as how we got a lot of folks from other countries out there....what's the story? Are we Americans the only people that (over) decorate their houses for every little holiday?

JJ

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[wingnut 0]

from what i've sen in germany and switzerland...YES..... me i only put up xmas stuff..and only if i feel like it that year and have the time.....

______________________________________
"i have no reader's digest version"

[bluefingers 0]

My family decorates for Xmas and that's it. And even then, it's just a few odds and sodds on the tree and maybe a wreath on the door. I think it's a personal thing though, none of us really like to drown the house in gaudy tinsel. Others here in SA do, to the point where it's hazardous to walk through the front door for fear of being attacked by errant tinsel or projectile father christmas.

(cats and kids love it though)

It also depends on the culture, of which we have many. Diwali and Ramadaan, I think they get quite extravagent with the decorating ...

Kerry

[flyhi 24]

Quote

It also depends on the culture, of which we have many. Diwali and Ramadaan, I think they get quite extravagent with the decorating ...

Got to ask, what do traditional Ramadaan decorations look like?

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[bluefingers 0]

to be honest, I dont know.
Diwali, very bright! and lots of nummy sweets

Kerry

[ernokaikkonen 0]

>Are we Americans the only people that (over) decorate
>their houses for every little holiday?

I'm sure your finnish friend already explained this to you, but here we just put up some christmas lights and thats it. Plus the traditional two candles on a window on Independence day the 6th of December.

That being said, the american style with lavish(overdone) decorations is spreading here too. Tacky, in my opinion.

Erno